VW Golf GTI: ‘Freakish attention to detail’ | Martin Love

It was already the world's best hatchback. Now VW has gone and made the Golf GTI even better

Price: 28,345
Top speed: 155mph
0-62mph: 6.4 seconds
MPG: 44.1
CO2: 148g/km

Each time you select reverse in the latest VW Golf you hear a slight creak from the back of the car. I spent a day trying to figure out what it could be. Finally I asked my youngest daughter to lie on the road and tell me what she saw as I reversed towards her. I was going to stop well before making contact, obvs, but my wife didn't see it like that. No, not at all. And my explanation of "journalistic thoroughness" didn't calm her down. Anyway, just before the car reached our daughter's prone body, she piped up and I hit the brakes. It turns out the creak comes from the badge. It tilts upwards to allow a self-cleaning reversing camera to poke out. Keeping the lens free of road grime means the view transmitted to the driver's flatscreen is as sharp, clear and crisp as the telly in your front room.